Olivia 2.5 Years!

Olivia Jane!!! You are 2 and a half years old (+ a few weeks because I'm behind in posting this)! What?! You are so biggie and I don't know how to handle it. I love watching you grow and learn new things, but I cannot believe how fast everything is moving!

You are a bundle of endless energy and can go-go-go ALL day and rarely even take naps anymore. To give you an opportunity to rest if you need to (and to give mommy a break too) we have "rest time" every afternoon. Like I said, you hardly ever nap during rest time. Instead you play with your books, Little People, or animals. You like to line up all your books and make paths that you walk on around your room. You sing and play imaginative games with your Little People and I love hearing their "conversations" over the monitor. You often repeat phrases I say to you, recently saying things such as, "hold on, we have to be patient, okay?". You're cute.

It amazes me how many words you have. Your vocabulary is pretty extensive and you surprise us often with new words and phrases. I love being able to communicate with you more and more each day. Of course my favorite thing you say is "I love you". It especially warms my heart when you go over to Juliet, wrap your arms around her, and say, "I love you, baby!".

You are a really great big sister. Recently you and Juliet have started playing together more and more and it just the cutest! No one makes Juliet laugh like you can. To me the two of you laughing together is the best sound in the whole world. You will occasionally go over to JuJu, wrap your arms around her (usually around her head - poor Juliet 😂), and proclaim, "I love you, baby!". My heart can hardly handle it.

You are still moon obsessed (see ADORABLE video below) and have everyone in the family, including extended family members, screaming out "mooooon" and pointing whenever we see it! I will never look at the moon without thinking of you!!

You're still really talented when it comes to riding your bike and can zoom around the neighborhood at great speed. You are just so athletically inclined, not to mention that you are brave... a combination that scares me as you like to fling yourself and climb non-stop. I have found you at the top shelf of both your toy closet and the pantry multiple times. And you scale them quickly! It's not like I am ignoring you. If I hear the pantry doors open, I go to retrieve you, but you somehow manage to already be at the top by the time I get to you! Daddy and I seem to be saying, "Olivia! Be careful!" on repeat these days. On more than one occasion you have exclaimed back to us, "I'm not being careful. I'm being brave!" I love your fearless and determined nature. It's no surprise you were walking at age 8 months. You have places to be, things to explore, and you want to do it all with speed!

You are strong willed and you have 'a plan'. You like to direct and lead. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you when it comes to bossing around your little sister! I'm also super excited to see where these characteristics will take you! I love that you are strong, it makes me proud.

You are imaginative and can come up with detailed make-believe games. For example, this past week you had Lolly, Juliet (in my arms) and me line up behind you and you "drove" us around the house on a "bus". We had to stop at "red lights" and then start walking again when you saw a "green light". As the bus driver, you let us know when it was our stop, would "open the door" and have us exit the bus.

You set up a picnic for your stuffed animals

You enjoy coloring and can already draw a circle, square, and a triangle. You try to draw hearts and stars, but they are a little less recognizable. You can identify the letters O, J, and D. You can sing most of the A,B,C's, and can count to 13+ (skipping some of the teens).

I love watching you play. You enjoy cooking in your kitchen (often bringing us tastes of what you've cooked), building towers, playing make believe with your babydoll, barbies, and little people, singing songs and dancing, making paths by lining up your books, and kicking the soccer ball with daddy. Your favorite thing, however, has to be dressing up. You love a pretty dress. Most of your day is spent in a princess dress, dress-up shoes, a tiara, and costume jewelry. We go through multiple costume changes a day. You may have been known to declare, "I'm so pretty! Look at me! I'm a princess!".

Currently, you are hit or miss when it comes to food. Daddy and I have been very intentional about feeding you what we are eating, but recently you have become a picky eater. Your favorite foods right now consist of PB&J sandwiches, bananas, grapes, yogurt, almond milk, apple juice, and the most requested Z-bars.

You love being a helper and are always asking to help me make dinner, help with the baby, and you love helping me at the grocery store. You like to copy mommy and I think it's precious.

You hopped off your bike and asked to push the baby

We go to the library each week and you and Juliet play and we pick up some new books. You and daddy read the library books each night before bed. I love watching you two do the bedtime routine. I think it's one of the memories that will stick with me forever.

You started SCHOOL this fall!! WHAT?! You are going to school two days a week for 3 hour stretches. The preschool is at a little church down the street from our house and it is just precious. You have two teachers, Ms. Emily and Ms. Terry, and 10 classmates. Girl, you were so ready to go to school. It's going to be such a blessing for everyone. You enjoy having somewhere to go and an outlet for your energy.

Your tough daily schedule

Other things you are loving right now include:

• Receiving mail! You love getting letters and postcards and you love helping collect the mail from the mailbox. Luckily, you have a great group of people who love you who are pretty consistent in sending you mail! G-daddy and Alice in particular, send you mail frequently. 
• The Rumba. You would run the rumba alllllll day long if we would let you. Because of this, the rumba has recently moved to a closet and is out of sight. Ha!
• Frozen - we have only recently stumbled upon this movie. You're old enough now to attend to it. You especially enjoy the snow monster and all the scenes with him in it... It may have to do with the fact that the first time you were watching it, I fast forwarded the monster scene and said something about this part being scary and you demanded you wanted to watch it anyways. You like to be in control 😏...
• You would swing all day if you could
• You love pointing out red, green, and the elusive yellow lights when we are driving. You "help" me and tell me to "STOP" and/or "GO" at each light. 
• Playing Daniel Tiger apps and Mickey Color games on your Kindle (which you call your "pink" because it has a pink case)
• Cuddling up to mommy in the morning on the couch while you drink your milk under the big blanket (mommy loves this too!)
• Playing hide-and-go-seek around the house. You like to decide who's turn it is and sometimes tell us where to hide. 

You're kind of potty trained. You do really well at it - but it has to be your idea. You don't like to go if we ask you, make you try, or if you're too busy with something to bother. You're going to school with big girl panties and have had no accidents so far while you're there. You declared to me that you went potty "just like your friends" when I picked you up last week, so I'm hoping school might be the thing that makes it stick!! Fingers crossed! 

Olivia, you are so funny and make your daddy and me laugh all the time. This summer you were wailing during rest time, so I went up to check on you and ask you what was wrong. You were sitting in bed, pulling on your toes. You cried to me that you were so upset because they weren't growing and you couldn't make them all the same length. Hahaha! I love the mind of a 2 year old.

Olivia Jane, I am so thankful that God make me YOUR mommy!! You are such a blessing to our family, such a delight, and such a joy!!! I love being on this journey with you and am loving watching you grow. Annnndddddd I cannot believe you are coming up on THREE!!! Love you to the MOON and back, princess!!!!